IPackThat MODO script
polycounter lvl 17
Hey folks, been working on a script to help getting UVs to/from IPackThat.
It's pretty simple to use, hopefully.
Extract this into an "lxserv" folder in your scripts directory, restart MODO - it should work with 801 and 901.
http://www.farfarer.com/temp/IPackThat.zip
To use it:
It's an early version, there's probably a bit left to clean up and catch, but any feedback would be welcome
As this is an early version, it's probably a good idea to save your scene before running this, just in case.
It's pretty simple to use, hopefully.
Extract this into an "lxserv" folder in your scripts directory, restart MODO - it should work with 801 and 901.
http://www.farfarer.com/temp/IPackThat.zip
To use it:
- Select your mesh and the UV maps you want to pack.
- Run the command ffr.IPackThat
- The script will ask you (once) to find the path to IPackThat (although if it's already installed in the default Steam directory of C: \Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\IPackThat\IPackThat.exe it'll run straight from there). It gets saved in a user variable after that for subsequent runs.
- The script will then ask you to save an FBX file, then it will fire up IPackThat and load the mesh.
- Do your packing in IPackThat until you're happy with it.
- Save back out from IPackThat over the top of the FBX file you sent to it.
- Close IPackThat.
- Once IPackThat is closed, the script will kick back in and copy over the UVs from your packed version.
- If you save elsewhere, the script will ask you to find the new FBX file you saved from IPackThat instead, then it'll load it in and copy the UVs over.
It's an early version, there's probably a bit left to clean up and catch, but any feedback would be welcome
As this is an early version, it's probably a good idea to save your scene before running this, just in case.
Replies
Am I missing something?
First, nice script, I don't use Modo but I could see those who do enjoying the connectivity.
Second, a co-worker and a few other people I know use IPackThat regularly without any problems. Your best bet would be to submit a detailed bug report and see what's going on.
I was looking for something working as UV pack in Blender or MAx where it makes overlapping UVs of instanced parts unique.
Curious if somebody know a good solution for that working not forever for more or less complex scene/object?
Just do a linear pack without rescaling in max and then bring it into IPackThat. Simple and quick.
Wanted to check this exchange feature with fbx like the GoZ feature. Did not got the time yet *g*
If you need a feature to enhance the feature, give me a mail
The overlap detection can take some time. The tool is treating overlaps as merged cluster. It will also detect baking offsets and handle them correctly. On export those baking shifted overlaps are placed back to 1-2 area. If you got a problematic mesh, send to support@ipackthat.com with a description what's up. Will try to fix those problems imminent and upload a new patch. Already checked hundreds of meshes and found plenty of edge case with the help of the community. Those bugs are all fixed now. But I can't guarantee that there are still meshes out there that can cause problems. But I can guarantee that those problems are handled top priority:)
There's nothing particularly special happening in terms of sending data to/from IPackThat directly.
Having a "Save" button that saves back over the file you've opened by default would be handy in cases like this.
Perhaps rename the current one as "Save As", Photoshop style.
Warren was having issues with it in 801 (that I can't repro here) so any issues there let me know
I asked few people around and everybody just shrugged and said the soft simply hangs and does nothing. That's initial impression. I think it needs somewhere with big letters: "MAKE UV ISLANDS UNIQUE FIRST"
Script works without hitches in 801 SP3 anyway. Will test with SP5 today.
Turns out the user value for the path to IPackThat had been set up, but not filled. It will now check if the path is valid when it runs and ask you to re-select the .exe if it's no longer there.
Just redownload from here and overwrite the IPackThat.py file with the new one
EDIT: Updated again with some bugfixes for different naming conventions, also copies over all selected UV maps now, rather than just the first selected.
I've made sure that everything is packed into the 0-1 UV space and that there are no overlapping UVs in the UV layout before the FBX goes into IPackThat.
Obv Ipackthat is going to do a better job but it's going to take a wile + another step in the workflow. Is the improvement from the MODO pack worth the extra time? Or is it perhaps a better call to only use it on objects that would get the maximum benifit?
Basically, if it's going to take you longer than 5-10 minutes to do and you're not super fussy about how it's packed, it's worth looking into.
If it's going to take you a few hours to pack a complex mesh, then it's a no brainer to let IPackThat have at it for half an hour to get as good as or better results.